The Jaimeson Jones Memorial Scholarship supports local students who have had a sibling with cancer

Jaimeson was originally diagnosed with testicular cancer at age 14, and he was 15 by the time he finished three rounds of difficult chemotherapy and surgeries from his groin to his neck.  He then was in remission for four years, but in May of 2009, his cancer recurred, and he and his family endured treatment and surgeries all over again.

When, at age 20, Jaimeson realized that he was not going to survive his cancer this time, he told his family that he wanted his college savings to go to his two younger sisters.  He understood the financial cost the family had endured as a result of his two bouts of cancer, and he knew that college saving for all of the children had been severely curtailed as a direct result of his illness.

Jaimeson’s generosity inspired our original mission:  to give college scholarships to siblings of children with cancer.  Our scholarships are in two locations now:  at Washington State University and at Scholarship Foundation of Northshore.  Currently, Family Jewels Foundation is supporting four students throughout their college years, a financial commitment of which $29,000 remains to be raised.  Please click here

to make a donation today!  And thank you.

For Jaimeson’s family as with all others, childhood cancer was not only emotionally devastating, it was financially devastating.  Every year in the U.S., there are an estimated 15,780 children between the ages of birth and 19 years of age who are diagnosed with cancer.[1]  According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, in 2011 the total direct medical cost of childhood cancer in the United States was $88.7 billion, with roughly half spent on outpatient expenses, 35% on in-patient costs, and 11% on prescription drugs. The average cost of treating one child with cancer is $500,000, and parents pay, on average, out-of-pocket bills totaling $35,000.[2]

This financial toll is immense. Parents are faced with staggering bills at the same time they must focus on caring for their sick child, continuing to care for that child’s sibling(s), and dealing with their own emotional stress. The average cost of an inpatient hospitalization for a child with cancer is staggering $40,000 per stay. Even if insurance covers a large portion of the medical costs, there is more to the financial burden that is childhood cancer. Out of pocket non-medical expenses include travel time and expenses back and forth from home to the hospital and any outpatient treatment centers, and the gas (or, worse, airline ticket costs), lodging and meal costs add up quickly, as well as childcare expenses for any children left at home.  Some families actually have to move to be closer to their child’s treatment center.  Compass to Care, a charitable organization that schedules and pays for travel arrangements to the hospital where a child is being treated for cancer, states that 30% of children with cancer do not have an oncologist within 60 miles of them.[3]

An additional major cost comes when one parent must leave his or her job to take care of their sick child. Self-employed parents immediately lose an entire source of income for the family, and others are forced to take unpaid leaves from their job. Id.

And, even if a child’s cancer goes into remission, the costs continue.  Most childhood cancer survivors at least have long-term follow-up visits about once a year.  Two-thirds of these patients, though, will have long-lasting chronic conditions caused by the chemotherapy and other cancer treatments, and these conditions require ongoing treatment as well.

Finally, the above-described costs do not address the treatment of psychological issues caused by the high stress burden which afflicts all family members when a child is diagnosed with cancer.

[1] https://www.acco.org/us-childhood-cancer-statistics/

[2] http://www.wishuponastar.org/childhood-cancer-by-the-numbers/

[3] https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizfrazierpeck/2017/12/30/the-financial-impact-of-childhood-cancer-on-families-and-where-to-find-help/#579f4d755cd2